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Tell Blizzard all about your character

In case anyone missed it, Blizzard are running a writing competition which is actually open to entrants outside the US (as well as inside it). What you have to do is write 3k-10k words and the story should be set in the world of Warcraft, Starcraft or Diablo.

And just in case anyone was thinking of submitting their favourite slash pairing, the smallprint on the rules does state:

Any entries or submissions which depict or glorify overly graphic, lewd, obscene, vulgar or profane behavior, or which utilize lewd, obscene vulgar or profane language, either as part of the submission or as the name of the submission, will be disqualified at the sole discretion of Sponsor.

The prize is a trip to Blizzard HQ (in southern california) to ‘meet and eat’ with the Blizzard writers and pick up a copy of Frostmourne. I think there’s room for a joke here about the pen being mightier than the sword, but it’s too early in the morning for me to think of it.

Personally, if I’m writing publishable quality short stories (which is what the winner will be) I want a writing contract, not a fake sword. Just sayin’. But I guess that’s the main point of getting some quality face time with the actual writers. That and the free lunch.

It’s not impossible that they are lining up potential writers for future writing gigs though. Again from the smallprint:

The Entry Materials include a survey that requires you to enter your name, e-mail address, and state of residence. By entering the Contest, you consent to Sponsor’s use of this information to inform you of open positions with Blizzard, and to associate your name with your submission in promotional materials for the Contest in the event that you are chosen to be a winner.

Also if I’m going all the way to California I want to see cool stuff, not Blizzard HQ. I think I fail on the fannishness on some basic level 😉 And joking aside, they only give 2 nights lodging which is a bit tight on the jet lag if you have to fly 11+ hours each way.

However, if you are a keen writer and want some free publicity and an ‘in’ on possible future writing work with Blizzard, it’s got to be worth a shot.

I’m tempted to come up with something for this. That said, there’s no way that I would work in Irvine at Blizzard HQ. They can have me as a freelance employee (especially with writing, for pete’s sake), but if I wanted to be there working, I’d have applied for any of the art positions I’m qualified for over the last 5 years.